Senior Mechanical Engineer

Who you are

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in mechanical engineering or a related field
• Experience leading mechanical hardware design and development from concept through prototype and into production
• Strong Design for Manufacturability and direct experience working with machinists and vendors
• Expert-level GD&T and tolerance analysis (ASME Y14.5)
• Deep materials knowledge, including refractory metals and ceramics, and the ability to specify processing and heat treatment
• Proficiency with mechanical CAD (such as SolidWorks) and finite element modelling for structural and thermal analysis
• A prototyping-first mindset and comfort building and testing your own hardware
• Strong problem-solving ability and attention to detail
• Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary engineering teams
• Experience with spaceflight or aerospace hardware and associated qualification workflows
• Background in aerospace, plasma devices, or vacuum systems
• Experience supporting hardware integration, assembly, or environmental testing
• For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)

What the job involves

• We are seeking a Sr. Mechanical Engineer to join Xona's propulsion team in Burlingame. In this role, you will serve as the primary mechanical architect and design owner for advanced satellite propulsion hardware
• You will drive core mechanical and thermal design from early architecture concepts through prototype stage iteration, qualification testing, and transition to high-rate flight production
• This is a high ownership, hands-on role where you will drive full-system CAD development, detailed FEA, thermal-structural joint optimization, and rapid laboratory test execution
• You will work directly with others across the satellite bus, electrical, and manufacturing teams to deploy ultra-reliable hardware into orbit
• Serve as the lead designer for the propulsion system and supporting hardware
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) across several high-precision mechanical components and assemblies working directly with machine shops and specialty vendors
• Select materials for high-temperature, high-vacuum, and other demanding environments and define standards and material treatments
• Perform structural and thermal analysis to evaluate margins and ensure survival under launch and operational environments
• Build, assemble, and iterate on prototype hardware, and support integration into TVAC facilities
• Develop and execute test plans for prototypes, engineering models, and flight hardware, and troubleshoot mechanical assemblies in the lab
• Define inspection, acceptance, and assembly procedures that carry the design from prototype into sustained production
• Support supplier evaluation and selection for mechanical and thermal components